Eating organic food could cut the risk of cancer, a new study has found.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and breast cancer rates were lower among those who more frequently eschewed conventional food, according to researchers from the Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics in Paris who examined data from nearly 70,000 French adults.
The reduced risk may be because those who eat organic are not exposed to the chemical pesticides and medicines which are generally used to treat regular fruit, veg, meat and fish, they suggested.

“Because of their lower exposure to pesticide residues, it can be hypothesised that high organic food consumers may have a lower risk of developing cancer,” said lead author Julia Baudry. “If the findings are confirmed, promoting organic food consumption in the general population could be a promising preventive strategy against cancer.”

But Dr Baudry admitted that such a diet appeared to have no effect on the risk of contracting bowel or prostate cancer.

The finding – published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal – comes amid rising concern about the health risks of pesticides.